Ellen DeGeneres Lobbies for 'Bully' Documentary Rating Change

Ellen DeGeneres spoke on her show earlier this week about the importance of the documentary Bully, which was given an R rating by the MPAA. She said it could "change lives" and urged viewers to sign a Change.org petition launched by Katy Butler, a lesbian teenager who is trying to get the film's rating changed to PG-13, which would mean it could be shown in high school classrooms.

Butler told The Advocate in an exclusive statement that "we sent a loud and clear message to the MPAA that the movie Bully shouldn't be given an R rating." She hopes that showing the movie in classrooms means it would reach "those students who need to see it the most" and help improve students' lives. "Every day in every middle school and high school in America, students are bullied," she said. "This movie, if given a PG-13 rating, could reach those students as well as bullies themselves and help put a stop to the epidemic of school bullying in our country."